Reporting Period

Back on a serious note again, the next reporting period starts tomorrow! It runs April 1-10, with a recipient review period of April 11-12. I don't know how many prime recipients had planned on reviewing their reports on Sunday the 11th, but it is available. Here is the reporting timeline, from recovery.gov:

April 1 - 10 Recipients Report
April 11 - 12 Recipient Review (Prime recipients and sub-recipients can make changes to their reports).
April 13 - 29 Agency Review (Agencies comment on reports and recipients continue to make corrections.)
April 30 Recipient Data is published on Recovery.gov
May 3 - June 14 Continuous Quality Assurance (Agencies continue to review and comment on recipients' reports. Recipients make corrections.)

And Now for an Opposing Viewpoint . . .

Here is a "report" entitled "Recovery.gov – A Monument to Silly Wasteful Stupid Government Spending." Just in case someone thought that everyone was behind the stimulus package.

Are You Sure About that Last Post?

Let's assume for the sake of argument that a housing authority is not subject to any state review. Even if you win, fighting a review of your spending by an outside entity sends up a MASSIVE red flag. Earl Devaney says the RAT Board is looking for fraud, waste and abuse, right? Fighting to keep what you do secret is not a good way to pass under the radar.

Remember the kid in grammar school who, whether what he did was good or bad, always seemed to scream, "Look at me! Look at me!" Someone in authority eventually looked, and he got the attention he so badly craved. Do you see the correlation?

Does the State Auditor in Mississippi have the authority to audit Housing Authorities?

Section 7-7-81 of the Mississippi Code states:

"(1) The State Auditor shall have the authority to preaudit or postaudit, conduct performance audits and reviews, investigate projects, entities and their use of any funds provided to the state or any of its agencies or subdivision, or any nonprofit organization, from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and its successors. . . . The State Auditor shall have the authority to recover costs associated with auditing and investigating such projects and funds within the limits of federal law from any such entity that receives such funds."

Apparently, the state legislature intended for it to be so, if the money was received pursuant to ARRA. Housing authorities are entities that are not normally subject to the authority of the State Auditor, but why would they not be willing for someone to ensure that the money is actually being used for the poor people they are trying to help? As Shakespeare said, "methinks they protest too much."

Homeland Security

ARRA is paying for a lot of things these days, but were you aware that the Department of Homeland Security got a nice chunk of the recovery funds? Yes, they received more than $3 Billion in stimulus money.

DHS says about the funds, "Projects supported by these funds will not only make the country safer and more secure, but they also will create new jobs, and in some cases, save the jobs of men and women who do the work of staying ahead of those who would seek to do us harm."

Here's where some of the money went or is going:

Transportation Security Administration:
•$1 billion for explosives detection systems and checkpoint screening equipment

St. Elizabeths/DHS Headquarters Consolidation:
•$650 million ($200 million to DHS; $450 million to GSA)

DHS Office of Inspector General:
•$5 million to conduct related oversight and audits

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP):
•$100 million for border technology on the southwest border
•$60 million for tactical communications equipment and radios

Is this where the money should go to stimulate the economy? I'm just asking . . .

Stimulus for Post Office?

I received a letter addressed to "resident" from the US Census Bureau that basically said "You will receive your Census form next week. Please fill it out and send it in."

Is this the "waste, fraud and abuse" we hear so much about, or is it a sneaky form of stimulus for the Post Office?

Just wondering . . .

RATs on Video!

The Recovery and Transparency (RAT) Board has a channel on YouTube. If you really want to follow them, you can subscribe or link up on Twitter or Facebook. More RATs than most people want!

Scare Tactics

No, I'm not talking about the TV show. I'm talking about Earl Devaney's Youtube video. It's an oldie but a goodie.

It runs 3:33, and the scary part for people who handle ARRA money is at about 2:30 or so. The RAT Board chairman starts talking about all the opportunities for anyone, anywhere, to file a complaint if they see something they don't like. Anybody out there please EVERYONE today? Do any governmental entities have people who don't like what they do? Good luck.

Devaney says there is fraud, waste, and abuse out there, and they'll find it. So, in the words immortalized in the show "Hill Street Blues," be careful out there.